192 



THE CANADIAN H0ETICULTURI8T. 



THE CROWN 0' THE YEAR. 



Out of my low little lattice 



( looked, and the skies were blue ; 

 And the gossamer robes of the Morning 



Were s [tangled with diamond dew ; 

 There were pearls on thi wayside sedges, 



And gems on the hawthorn spray, 

 And a sciatiliant rainbow shiver 



Ran over the lields and away. 



A merry tom-tit was singing 



A-top of the maple tall ; 

 And a gadding rose, belated. 



Looked over the garden wall ; 

 The brooklet, astray in the meadows. 



Was piping her ruedy song : 

 Ah 1 Fair is the Spring ! I echoed ; 



And Summer is gladsome and long 1 



With her lovely procession of flowers, 



Her music of bird-song and breeze. 

 Her sunshine and soft tripping showers. 



And lullaby droning of bees ! 

 And Winter is hale and wholesome. 



With his bluster and sparkle and cheer; 

 But Autumn, brown-bearded and ruddy, 



Weareth the crown o' the year I 



Heir of the bountiful seasons, 



He opens his lavish hands. 

 And the gold of a myriad harvests 



Is scattered about the lands ! 

 It rustles along the corn-rows, 



It glimmers among the sheaves, 

 It mellows the red-streaked apples 

 ; . That dangle about the eaves ! 



Fanned by his frosty northers, 



TJje wide woods kindle and blaze ; 

 The inhnite ether above us 



Smiles down thro' a dalTodil haze ; 

 The golden-rods light unthe thickets ; 



With mosses, and brambles, and ferns, 

 He spreads for our footsteps a pathway 



Of glory that glitters arid burns I 



A luscious ripeness lingers 



Abroad in the sunny air ; 

 And a thousand rich aromas 



Steal on us unaware ; , 

 Let Summer vaunt her roses, 



And VVuiter his princely cheer, 

 But Autumn, brown and ruddy, 



Weareth the .crpwn o' the year I 



• Emu A Alicb Browmb. 



jy. F. Ledger.. 



Ohicaqo's Parks.— From 125,000 to 

 150,000 plants are raised every year to fill 

 the beds in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Of 

 these about 24,000 are geraniums, 37,000 

 cpleus, 20,000 Echiveras, and the remain- 

 der mixed plants in lots of from 1,000 to 

 5,000. One of the large beds in the park 

 requires 10,000 plants to fill it -several of 

 the baskets and vases require from 150 to 

 250 good sized specimens. There are four 

 houses, each 100 X 12, and a number of 

 «<)ld pits or frames, in use for raising these 

 plants. — Michigan Farmer. 



The Rubber Plant in Mexico. — 



Mexico is making a study of the culture 

 of the rubber plant. The hardiness of 

 the plant is said to be such that its cul- 

 ture is exceedingly simple and inexpen- 

 sive, where the climate and soil are suit- 

 able. In much of the Mexican coast 

 region the only expense is the weeding 

 required when the plants are young, to 

 give them a chance to grow and strengthen. 



Tobacco Juice Vapor for Plants. — 

 The vapor of tobacco juice has been tested 

 in France as an insecticide in green houses 

 with great success. Instead of burning 

 or smoking the tobacco, which is a very 

 offensive process to some persons, the to- 

 bacco is made into an extract by soaking 

 or boiling, and the juice is then placed 

 over a chafing dish, a fire, or the flame of 

 an ordinary lamp, and deposited in the 

 greenhouse or conservatory. Delicate 

 plants which are very sensitive to smoke 

 are not injured by this vapor, and it 

 leaves no off'ensive atmosphere, while it 

 efiectually disposes of thrips, lice, scale 

 insects, and slugs. One quart of tobacco 

 juice vaporized in a house containing 350 

 cubic feet is an ample amount. — Scientific 

 American. 



Plums for Market. — At the late meet- 

 ing of the Western New York Horticul- 

 tural Society, R. N. Handy, of Orleans 

 County, asked for the best market plums 

 for an orchard of 200 or 300 trees, which 

 he intended to set out in spring. S. D. 

 Willard, who has had m\ich experience 

 with plums, said it is hard to select for 

 others, but he would name the Lombard, 

 Copper plum, Reine Claude de Bavay, as 

 profitable for market. All plum trees 

 must b^ well fed, or else it is better not 

 to plant them at all. The Reine Claude 

 de Bavay is liable to overbear, and the 

 fruit must be timely thinned. The yellow 

 or light-colored plums sell best . He. plants 

 his trees 12 by 16 feet apart ; some of 

 them 16 by 16. Moore's Arctic plum, 

 from Maine, was highly spoken of for cold 

 regions. Mr. Barry said Pond's Seedling 

 is a valuable market sort, but a light 

 bearer while the tree is young. The Mc- 

 Laughlin was commended for high quality. 

 The Jefferson is an excellent plum, but 

 the tree is a poor grower. 



PfUtTTED AT THE STEAM PRESS BSTABLiSHMR^T OP OOPP, CLARK • CO., OOLBOBNK STREET,^ TOROMTO. 



